Arsonists have again set fire to a Reform temple here that has been repeatedly defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti.
The fire at Temple Adat Elohim in Thousand Oaks, a community west of Los Angeles, caused $8,000 in damages to a wall of the sanctuary and part of the roof. Three weeks ago, a similar arson charred a door at the Reform congregation.
The two fires, following a string of spray-painted swastikas and slurs in recent months, clearly indicate an anti-Semitic campaign against the congregation rather than a spate of random vandalism, said Marty Ricks, president of the temple’s board of directors.
“Whoever is doing this doesn’t want to give up,” Ricks said. “It’s somebody who really wants to burn us down. Up until this occurrence, I thought it was just kids trying to have some fun. It is more than that.”
Another Thousand Oaks synagogue, Temple Etz Chaim, and Temple Beth Torah, in the nearby city of Ventura, were defaced by spray-painted graffiti during the week of Chanukah. In the town of Agoura, a Chanukah display in front of a private residence was stolen.
The most serious incident in this area occurred in early January, when a firebomb gutted a building at Aish HaTorah in North Hollywood, causing $120,000 in damages. No arrests have been made in the case.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
